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acornlibrary's Reviews (300)
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so much more than I expected, and my potential rating changed a lot at different points of the book (as I did not have the best of feelings in the beginning). But all in all, it was a very solid and entertaining read. I absolutely recommend it.
Things I really liked:
The Romance - it was very cute and mostly felt like a real budding relationship to me. The awkwardness did it for me.
The action - Very good action sequences that had me hooked.
The mystery - At no point did I have to ask myself: 'How the hell did he figure that out?'. You will get enough clues to come to the same conclusion as Jason does, since he also shares all his thoughts on them, and even if you can't see it, the conclusion is no stretch from everything you are given. I actually loved that. It's rare in fantastical mysteries as far as I have read.
The full circle moment of Jason's character arc. That was nicely done and one of my favorite moments in the book. And now I know what I have always wanted in a book: The Constantine Movie feeling (It's short-lived, but still, thank you, Mr. Cronk!). Give me that, and you can do whatever you want. All in all, I loved Jason's backstory and his despair with it.
The twist - Yeah, he got me there. Usually, I am the one person in the room who sniffs the twist from a mile away, around the corner, over a river.
Captain Kaden
Things that were fine:
The writing - The book is very readable, and you will just fly through it. It is not too simple, not too convoluted, just right. Sometimes I wanted to use my brain a bit more and not be explained every slightly uncommon word (I am looking at you, 'game'). The overexplanation of things gave me the feeling that Jason is a bit slow on the uptake, unfortunately, but it got a lot better after a third of the book. Sometimes a sentence felt clunky, or some words are used a bit too often, but nothing bad.
The character arcs - Well, what can I say, you will see them grow, and I like to see characters struggle and grow, BUT the struggle they face is really on the nose. No reading between the lines here.
SPOILERS from this point on
Things I did not like
The beginning - To be honest, after reading the first chapter, I thought, 'who is that clown of a person? He feels so unreal, I might end it here if all the characters are going to be like that.' And yes, after reading the whole thing, everything comes together and makes sense, and I loved the hell out of that twist, but I almost DNFed right then and there because it felt so amateurish without all the information.
Pop-culture references - They were openly named and came in numbers. I did not like them one bit.
The antagonists - The dialogue was the worst when they were on the page. Stilted, not funny at all, and formerly established rules flew out of the window. Don't talk about shit? Why no, let's do the evil monologue... and reveal entirely too much information-.-
The miscommunication trope WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN??? And connecting to that: In what world would a 90-year-old woman act like a teenager? Just no.
So still 4 stars. Really good. Enjoyed thoroughly. It was a ride. Solid debut <3
Things I really liked:
The Romance - it was very cute and mostly felt like a real budding relationship to me. The awkwardness did it for me.
The action - Very good action sequences that had me hooked.
The mystery - At no point did I have to ask myself: 'How the hell did he figure that out?'. You will get enough clues to come to the same conclusion as Jason does, since he also shares all his thoughts on them, and even if you can't see it, the conclusion is no stretch from everything you are given. I actually loved that. It's rare in fantastical mysteries as far as I have read.
The full circle moment of Jason's character arc. That was nicely done and one of my favorite moments in the book. And now I know what I have always wanted in a book: The Constantine Movie feeling (It's short-lived, but still, thank you, Mr. Cronk!). Give me that, and you can do whatever you want. All in all, I loved Jason's backstory and his despair with it.
The twist - Yeah, he got me there. Usually, I am the one person in the room who sniffs the twist from a mile away, around the corner, over a river.
Captain Kaden
Things that were fine:
The writing - The book is very readable, and you will just fly through it. It is not too simple, not too convoluted, just right. Sometimes I wanted to use my brain a bit more and not be explained every slightly uncommon word (I am looking at you, 'game'). The overexplanation of things gave me the feeling that Jason is a bit slow on the uptake, unfortunately, but it got a lot better after a third of the book. Sometimes a sentence felt clunky, or some words are used a bit too often, but nothing bad.
The character arcs - Well, what can I say, you will see them grow, and I like to see characters struggle and grow, BUT the struggle they face is really on the nose. No reading between the lines here.
SPOILERS from this point on
Things I did not like
The beginning - To be honest, after reading the first chapter, I thought, 'who is that clown of a person? He feels so unreal, I might end it here if all the characters are going to be like that.' And yes, after reading the whole thing, everything comes together and makes sense, and I loved the hell out of that twist, but I almost DNFed right then and there because it felt so amateurish without all the information.
Pop-culture references - They were openly named and came in numbers. I did not like them one bit.
The antagonists - The dialogue was the worst when they were on the page. Stilted, not funny at all, and formerly established rules flew out of the window. Don't talk about shit? Why no, let's do the evil monologue... and reveal entirely too much information-.-
The miscommunication trope WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN??? And connecting to that: In what world would a 90-year-old woman act like a teenager? Just no.
So still 4 stars. Really good. Enjoyed thoroughly. It was a ride. Solid debut <3
So many typos! The story is really sweet and has no unnecessary drama but there is no tension at all, it just rolls on at the the same pace.
